Leave it to Alex Trebek to make light of a cancer diagnosis and drop an amusing Hollywood reference in one brief acceptance speech. On Sunday, the Jeopardy! host won his sixth outstanding-game-show-host Emmy, and his seventh award from the TV Academy overall, counting the Lifetime Achievement Award he received in 2011. As Trebek took the stage, he received a standing ovation—and quickly launched into a speech in which he said that ever since the nominations came out, he had worried about this very moment.

“Let me explain,” Trebek said. “‘You were worried about winning?!’ Yeah. I was concerned that sympathy might play a big role in the voting this year.” In March, Trebek revealed he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He opened up about the experience last week, saying in his first televised interview, “I’ve had kidney stones; I’ve had ruptured discs. So I’m used to dealing with pain. But what I’m not used to dealing with is the surges that come on suddenly of deep, deep sadness. And it brings tears to my eyes. I’ve discovered in this whole episode, ladies and gentlemen, that I’m a bit of a wuss.”

As Trebek spoke Sunday, the room audibly began to protest that he had won out of sympathy—but Trebek interrupted, saying, “Let me finish.” That’s when he slyly segued into humor.

“I’m not a big fan of sympathy votes,” he continued. “I believe we should all be judged on the merits of our work. However, I started thinking back to last year.”

“Last year, I was nominated,” Trebek said. “I had just had major surgery to remove two life-threatening blood clots on my brain. You would think that would have elicited a certain amount of sympathy! But I didn’t win!”

“So maybe I’ve been worrying about the wrong thing,” Trebek concluded, “and I should just do what Sally Field did in a different venue many, many years ago, and look at this as a sign that you guys like me and that you value my work. If that’s the case,” he finished, “I can live with that.”